Maybe Matt Groening is a little less angry at Fox now.
The network, which has abused Groening's new animated series "Futurama" by moving the show from Sundays to Tuesdays, has picked the series up for next sesaon. Fox ordered 22 episodes of the show.What has Groening so understandably and justifiably unhappy is that when "Futurama" debuted on Sundays after "The Simpsons" -- that other little show he created -- the ratings were great. As a matter of fact, "Futurama" became the first show Fox has ever had that actually improved on "The Simpsons' " numbers.
But, after two episodes, "Futurama" was shipped off to Tuesday nights, where the ratings fell by a third. As just about anyone who pays the slightest bit of attention to network television could have predicted.
Fox is favoring "Family Guy," which got the post-"Simpsons" time slot. And "Family Guy" is a far inferior series.
In addition to being stupid, derivative and profane, it's also loaded with racial and religious bigotry. We're not talking about a show like "All In the Family" that exposed and commented on racism and bigotry -- "Family Guy" just tosses out these atrocious bits with no comment at all. And this is an animated series aimed directly at kids and teens!
"Futurama" isn't "The Simpsons" yet, but it's headed in that direction. So, while Fox deserves brickbats for what it is doing with "Family Guy," is also deserves praise for renewing "Futurama."
HEAD IN A JAR: In the episode of "Futurama" scheduled to air Tuesday, April 27, Pamela Anderson makes a guest appearance as a head in a jar.
(Being that the show is set in the year 3000, that's the only way current celebrities can make guest appearances on the animated series.)
When critics were apprised of the former "Baywatch" babe's upcoming role, one -- Claire Bickley of the Toronto Sun -- asked a decidedly pertinent question: "What are we to make of a future that preserves Pamela Anderson from the neck up?"
HDTV SHOW: Beginning Monday, April 26, "The Tonight Show" will become the first TV series shot and broadcast in HDTV.
At the moment, this is pretty much non-news. In addition to the fact that only a few stations are actually broadcasting in high-definition, not a whole lot of Americans have gone out and plunked down several thousand dollars for a set that can receive HDTV signals.